Born Immortal

Born Immortal Chapter 4

"Did any of that make sense to you, Astyr?" Grima asked her softly, giving her a chance to bring her thoughts into order.

"This happens to you, too? You have these visions when you look into people's eyes?" Astyr held her breath waiting for a reply. She was starting to feel the long-dead stirrings of hope deep inside of her and she was trying to tell herself to calm down and not get too far ahead of whatever this was.

"I do have this ability, Astyr, just like you. We're not the only ones." Grima explained to Astyr how her mother had taught her to control the visions so that they didn't control Grima's life. "I hope that you will give me a chance to try and teach you these things as well."

Astyr couldn't stop the welling up of hope in her chest and she couldn't stop herself from smiling.

They spent another hour sitting at the table practicing and when Astyr was finally able to block her mind, they cleared away the remains of dinner. Grima sent Astyr to her room to do her homework and took care of cleaning the kitchen herself.

Alone in her room Astyr felt like she was floating on a cloud. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only did she discover that she wasn't as much of a freak as she had always felt she was, she was no longer a slave to the onslaught of visions that kept her separate from everyone around her. She no longer had to fear the simple act of looking someone in the eyes.

Astyr quickly finished her assignments; it was easy when you didn't even need to open a book to get the work done. She stuffed the papers and folders back into her bag and left it on the desk ready for tomorrow. She was still feeling rather euphoric so she drifted over to the window to look out into the forest and think about the new possibilities she faced being able to control her gift. The trees in the cool autumn night were still and peaceful and everything had a faint silver glow in the light of the not quite full moon. There were no colors visible in the darkness, only various shades of gray and silver and black. The trees on this side of the house were large and grew close together leaving little light from above to sustain much undergrowth.

Astyr was still lost in her thoughts when she thought she saw something move in between the thick tree trunks near the edge of the clearing that the house was in. She held her breath and concentrated on the spot between two tall pines where she thought the movement had come from. As she stared intently into the deep blackness she realized that there were two spots of color in among the flat grays and blacks that dominated the landscape. These two spots were an ominous amber color and were about four feet above the ground. The spots were completely still and Astyr could make out no shapes in the darkness surrounding the spots.

Suddenly the spots ceased to exist and Astyr gave a gasp and jumped like she had been shocked with electricity when there was a knock on her door at the exact same moment that they disappeared.

Astyr ran to the door and jerked it open staring frantically around with her eyes wide. Grima was standing there with some books in her hands looking at Astyr with some surprise. "I didn't mean to scare you, dear. Is something wrong?" Grima asked with a note of concern in her voice. Astyr put her hand over her racing heart and gave a small, nervous laugh. "I've never lived outside of a city before." Astyr tried to explain to Grima all the while feeling foolish. "I think I'm starting to jump at shadows."

"Don't you worry about anything this far out, Astyr. You're safer here with me than you ever were in the city." Grima's reassurances felt good to Astyr's shattered nerves and she felt her heartbeat slow to a normal rhythm. "Thanks Grima, I'm sure I'll get used to all this soon." Astyr smiled at her guardian to let her know she was okay. "Was there something you wanted?" Grima was holding some books in her hand and Astyr was curious about what might be in them after Grima's shocking revelation earlier.